The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
No one is exempt from the bite of a mosquito, and if that mosquito carries a disease, then the insect will pass along the disease and infect a person. The cycle starts with mosquitoes ingesting microorganisms while feeding on an infected person or animal. Later, the pathogens are transmitted into a different person or animal when the female mosquito uses its proboscis to inject saliva before sucking blood from its next victim. Mosquitoes are vectors, or carriers, of many deadly diseases, including Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever, West Nile Virus, Chickungunya and Zika virus.
In the past, Zika virus became a widespread epidemic, infecting approximately 3-4 million people and resulting in microcephaly and other central nervous system malformations in its victims' offspring. This mosquito-dependent virus impacted the Olympic Games in Brazil as pregnant women were unable to attend due to the risk of infection. As recently as November 2017, Texas experienced its first case of Zika virus infection spread by local mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, mosquito populations are difficult to test, as they are often in remote locations or in confined spaces. This increases the difficult in trapping the mosquitoes due to the terrain, location, and spatial restrictions. Traditional traps require physical placement and close monitoring, which can be difficult in less populated and/or confined areas.
The testing of mosquitoes for viruses has become important for one main reason: viruses carrying mosquitoes have become common in our world, sickening hundreds of millions of people annually and killing several million people each year. Currently, the U.S. faces difficulty in efficiently catching the insects responsible for the spread of such viruses. In Orange County, California alone, there are 24 species of mosquitoes, a handful of which transmit disease. Two new invasive mosquitoes to the Orange County area include the Asian tiger (Aedes albopticus) which transmits Zika and Dengue and Yellow Fever, and Aedes aegypti which mainly transmits Yellow Fever, but can also transmit Zika. Two other dangerous mosquito species are Culex, which transmits West Nile Virus, and Anopheles, which carries the parasite that transmits malaria. With an improved ability to trap mosquitoes for testing, the U.S. would be better able to alert the public of new risky mosquito populations and mosquitoes that might be carrying viruses before they arrive into the local area or before there is a major health threat. This early detection is critical to prevent mosquitoes from spreading viruses.
Specific to the Los Angeles, Calif. area, there is reportedly about 1,500 miles of storm drains underground through which approximately 100 million gallons of water passes through each day. These enclosed waterways harbor many mosquito populations.
Some companies have begun to develop prototypes to locate and trap mosquitoes using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones. For example, Microsoft has created a UAV to identify areas where mosquitoes may be present, and where a physical trap could be placed. However, this trap is not mobile, and therefore, it is only useful for identifying a specific sampling location.
More recent gene editing technologies have enabled the breeding of all male sterile progeny, genetically modified mosquitoes/larvae that are not capable of breeding live progeny or are capable of passing on disease-fighting (e.g., anti-malaria) genes to its progeny. Notably, these genetically modified mosquitoes must be distributed to the relevant mosquito populations. Accordingly, there is a need for a cost-effective carrier for disseminating and/or trapping insects such as mosquitoes to select locations, and, to and from locations in underground waterways and sewers.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.